Dan Satterberg’s fundraising head start?

For the past couple weeks I’ve been hearing rumors of Republican wags bragging that Dan Satterberg has a $180,000 head start in the race to replace the late Norm Maleng as King County Prosecutor. Seemed like an awful lot of money to raise so quickly. But now I understand what they were talking about.

According to a press release issued today by the Washington State Democratic Party:

Top Democrats today responded to widespread rumors that the Republican Party is planning to funnel the $194,000 remaining in the campaign coffers of late King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng into partisan attacks intended to influence the special election this fall to name Maleng’s replacement.

Under state law, it is illegal to transfer so-called “surplus” campaign funds – the money left over after retirement, loss, or death – from one candidate’s accounts directly to that of another candidate. It is, however, legal to donate to charity, or to a party organization— but if the funds do go to a political party, any quid pro quo understanding that the funds will then be donated to or spent in support a particular candidate would run afoul of Washington State’s campaign finance laws.

In the case of the prosecutor’s race, State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz says that if large amounts of cash from Maleng’s campaign coffers are funneled through the Republican Party back to the GOP nominee for the position, Republican Dan Satterberg – as some Satterberg backers have been whispering is likely – it would be tantamount to the sort of illegal and unethical political money laundering that Republicans have become known for on the national level.

“A fair minded leader like Norm Maleng should not have his campaign cash laundered through a Tom Delay-style money machine,” said Pelz, who worked with Maleng during his eight years on the King County Council. “Out of respect for Maleng’s legacy, that money should rightfully go to charity, not to fund attack ads or earmarked to help anoint a partisan replacement.”

Maleng gets a lot of well-deserved credit for having kept politics out of his office, and both Satterberg and Democratic frontrunner Bill Sherman have promised to build on that legacy. But I don’t see how Satterberg can fulfill that pledge if he allows his handlers — such as two-time Bush-Cheney WA State chair Mike McKay — to help him win office by sullying Maleng’s memory through creative accounting.

On the other hand, the rumor I heard may only be just that. Maleng was the co-chair with Gov. Chris Gregoire of the Seattle chapter of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network (CAN). Seattle CAN is holding a long-scheduled fundraising breakfast next Tuesday, June 26, at the Washington Athletic Club, and I’ve also heard rumors that Maleng’s wife Judy will not only be attending in his place, but will announce a “large donation” in his honor.

Now that would be a non-partisan use of surplus campaign funds worthy of Maleng’s legacy.

FYI, tickets for the Seattle CAN breakfast ($100 to $5000) are still available.

“No money will be spent directly or indirectly to help (acting prosecutor) Dan Satterberg,” Seattle attorney Mike McKay said unequivocally Tuesday. He said Judy Maleng, the late prosecutor’s widow, “has made that clear.”

Ooooh lookeee here … the Seattle Times is pontificating about “money laundering” …

” … In many states, including this one, a worker who resigns from a union may be required to pay it for representing him, but he may refuse to pay [for] … donating to political causes. …

“When the WEA could see it was going to lose, it had its friends in the Legislature pass House Bill 2079 … which … says money from members and nonmembers may be put in the same account and spent on politics as long as there is enough left in the account to cover what the nonmembers paid. We understand why it was done that way: The Democrats get most union contributions …. But co-mingling amounts to a kind of money laundering, and the Legislature and governor never should have approved it. The right way is for unions to have separate accounts for … labor representation and … politics ….”*

It may be against state law to transfer Maleng’s money to Satterberg’s campaign, but that won’t stop the Republicans. Who is going to prosecute them, state attorney general Republican Rob McKenna? The law is for suckers, not Republicans.

“SANTA FE, N.M. (June 19) – Legend has it that Yale University’s ultrasecret Skull and Bones society swiped the remains of American Indian leader Geronimo nearly a century ago from an army outpost in Oklahoma, and now Geronimo’s great-grandson wants the remains returned … the president’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, was allegedly one of those who helped steal the bones in 1918 ….”

10 Someone should grab that guy before he gets outside the beltway, turn him upside down and shake him, and see what falls out of his pockets. I’ve seen him in Congressional budget hearings, and he came across as so slimy it wouldn’t have surprised me to see him picking pockets as the sessions adjourned.

Can we trust what Mike McKay has to say? He sure managed to screw up Norm Maleng’s campaign finance reporting and compliance as his campaign treasurer:

1. Norm Maleng’s campaign fund made an illegal donation of $1,000.00 to the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign on August 18, 2003. This was not Maleng’s personal money (which would have been perfectly okay), but his campaign money. RCW 42.17.095(8) specifically prohibits a candidate from giving campaign funds to another candidate. This may also be against federal law, since Maleng’s campaign fund included corporate contributions, and corporate funds cannot be given, directly or indirectly, to federal candidates. By the way, Norm Maleng was the only candidate of either party in the entire state to have unlawfully given his campaign funds to either George Bush or John Kerry during the 2003 & 2004 time frame.

2. During April 2006, Maleng’s campaign raised $81,015.31 and spent $42,280.26. Maleng and McKay should have filed their monthly PDC report by May 10, 2006. They didn’t file this report until June 13, 2006, or 34 days late.

3. Maleng and McKay filed several other periodic campaign finance reports for the 2006 campaign late with the PDC, with one report being 90 days late — the activity for December 2006, due on January 10, 2007, was not reported until April 10, 2007.

4. Every single pre-election report in 2002 (21 day and 7 day pre-primary, and 21 day and 7 day pre-general) was filed late by Maleng and McKay. The information required to be reported 21 days and 7 days prior to the November 5, 2002 general election was not reported until November 12, 2002, or 7 days after the general election.

5. Let’s don’t forget that Larry Corrigan (also reknowned as a convicted child predator and sex offender) apparently stole over $70,000 from Maleng’s campaign sometime during 2005 or 2006 (or whenever). $10,000 was supposedly returned in early 2006, and the remainder in late November or early December 2006. None of Maleng’s campaign finance reports reflect either the theft of this money, or the return of this money. It is not clear how long Maleng and McKay knew about this theft before publicly reporting it. Had they known about it in early 2006 (when the first $10,000 of stolen funds were returned) and reported it timely to the PDC, this could have inspired competition against Maleng in the 2006 election.

Who in the hell is Dwight Pelz to be talking about what is the proper legacy of Norm Maleng? Pelz is the ultimate political hack. He couldn’t hold Maleng’s jock strap when it comes to bi-partisan respect and non-partisan leadership. Pelz should shove his press release up his ass or better yet in his own mouth so we don’t have to hear his crap. Pelz worked with Maleng during his 8 years on the county council. Yeah the legacy of Dwight Pelz and his “accomplishments” in reforming our criminal justice system is staggering. After all he did…… well he did nothing. He is a joke. If Sherman intends to live up to Maleng’s non-partisan framework, he should tell Pelz to shut his mouth right now, otherwise Sherman is blowing hot air.

And what did all of this assumptive crap from Pelz generate? Nothing because Judy Maleng, a woman who lost her husband just over three weeks ago, had already decided that the money wasn’t going to the Republican Party. Too bad Pelz or you didn’t have the common decency to check with McKay or Mrs. Maleng herself before shooting your mouth off.

Once again Goldy your utter lack of knowledge when it comes to the people and issues of the King County Prosecutor’s Office astounds me. In one paragraph you praise Maleng for keeping politics out of his office while attacking Mike McKay for his Bush/Cheney connection in an attempt to tarnish Satterberg. You have to take the good with YOUR bad Goldy. Mike McKay served in the King County Prosecutor’s office with distinction and helped Norm build brick by brick the very legacy that you speak of. McKay then went on to serve as our U.S. Attorney with distinction and praise from BOTH sides of the political aisle. McKay has also served in a variety of roles on Maleng’s various campaigns. So again Goldy, if you are going to take shots at people at least get the facts straight. Or just call me a fuckwad like you did before. It seems that is what you are best at, name calling.

Oh and by the way, your candidate for Prosecutor better watch it when it comes to facts or he will get hurt. In his recent email solicitation he claims he prosecuted dozens of domestic violence, sexual assault and firearms crimes as a prosecutor. Well if you count less than a dozen domestic violence cases, zero sexual assault cases and zero firearms cases as “dozens” then I guess he is right.

Sherman’s website reminds me of the resumes you’re taught to write in college. Although you just worked as a clerk at Blockbuster, the description of your duties on your resume sound like you ran a Fortune 500 company and cured cancer in your spare time.

“Prosecuted dozens of domestic violence, sexual assault and firearm crimes” is extremely misleading and bordering on being just a flat out lie.

“The Committee to Elect Bill Sherman does not solicit or accept endorsements or contributions from employees of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.”

This is a wise move on his part, not because it avoids putting co-workers in a tough spot, but because it hides the fact that hardly anyone in the office supports his campaign even privately.

There are a couple hundred lawyers in the prosecutors office. Ask around and you’ll find one sooner or later. Ask them if they’re a Republican or a Democrat. They’ll almost certainly tell you they’re a Democrat. Ask them if they’ll vote for Sherman, Scully, or Satterberg. They’ll tell you Satterberg.

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